Does the prayer become invalid if they continue facing the wrong direction?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Does the prayer become invalid if they continue facing the wrong direction?
The Shaykh : Here comes a very important legal ruling, which is also one of the points of pride and ease in the Islamic Shari'ah. This imam who leads the people, whether he is a scholar, a student, or ignorant—I do not know which of these three descriptions applies to him—the important thing is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith: So this imam bears the responsibility for deviating from the qiblah after he has known its direction, whether for the purpose of expanding the mosque or to increase the number of rows. He bears the responsibility, and this means that the prayer of the people praying behind him is valid, based on the hadith I mentioned earlier and also his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding imams: Riyad as-Salihin 1838 This concludes the answer to the second question.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The Shaykh : Here comes a very important legal ruling, which is also one of the points of pride and ease in the Islamic Shari'ah. This imam who leads the people, whether he is a scholar, a student, or ignorant—I do not know which of these three descriptions applies to him—the important thing is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith:
The imam is a guarantor
الإمام ضامنYour leaders will lead you in Salat (prayer). If they conduct it properly, you and they will be rewarded; but if they make mistakes you will earn the reward and they will be held responsible (for the mistakes).
يصلون بكم ، فإن أصابوا فلكم ولهم ، وإن أخطؤوا فلكم وعليهمThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.